RANT SPORTS – Who Does Mark Eckel Think Should Win NFL Awards?
Once upon a time in a land far, far away I had a vote for the Associated Press’ NFL awards.
One year it was for Coach of the Year, another year it was for Rookie of the Year and every so often it was for Most Valuable Player.
While those days are gone, it doesn’t mean my opinions are. Now, the NFL conducts its awards like the Academy Awards. They nominate five players for each and then pick a winner.
The Oscars? Let’s call these the Rogers. And here’s one opinion.
Most Valuable Player
The nominees are.
Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore
Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia
Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati
Jared Goff, QB, Detroit
And the winner is.
Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia
This wasn’t easy. You could make the case for Allen and Jackson very easily. But if you take the award at its meaning, “most valuable’’ it has to be a the player who made the Eagles what they are.
Coach of the Year
The nominees are.
Dan Campbell, Detroit
Kevin O’Connell, Minnesota
Sean Payton, Denver
Dan Quinn, Washington
Andy Reid, Kansas City
And the winner is.
Dan Quinn, Washington
Jim Harbaugh, of the Chargers, probably should have been on the list as well. While all those nominated could have won the award almost any other year, this year it’s Quinn. To go from second-worst in the league to second-best in the conference it’s incredible.
Assistant Coach of the Year
The nominees are.
Joe Brady, OC, Buffalo
Vic Fangio, DC, Philadelphia
Brian Flores, DC, Minnesota
Aaron Glenn, DC, Detroit
Brian Johnson, OC, Detroit
And the winner is.
Vic Fangio, Philadelphia
The question is why wasn’t Kansas City’s Steve Spagnuolo on the list?
Comeback Player of the Year
The nominees are.
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati
Sam Darnold, Minnesota
J.K. Dobbins, Los Angeles
Christian Gonzalez, New England
Damar Hamlin, Buffalo
And the winner is
Joe Burrow, Cincinnati
Not sure what this award means anymore. Coming back from injury? Returning to form after a bad year? If it’s most improved that would be Darnold. But he didn’t come back from anything. Same goes for the rest of them.
Defensive Player of the Year
The nominees are.
Zach Baun, LB, Philadelphia
Myles Garrett, DE, Cleveland
Trey Hendrickson, DE, Cincinnati
Patrick Surtain, CB, Denver
T.J. Watt, LB, Pittsburgh
And the winner is.
Patrick Surtain, Denver
This one is really tough. Any of the five could win. Let’s go with the cover guy who took away the opponent’s top WR every week.
Offensive Player of the Year
And the nominees are.
Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia
Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati
JaMar Chase, WR, Cincinnati
Derrick Henry, RB, Baltimore
Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore
And the winner is.
Lamar Jackson, Baltimore
Unless Jackson, or Allen gets MVP. Then it has to be Barkley.
Defensive Rookie of the Year
And the nominees are.
Cooper DeJean, DB, Philadelphia
Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Philadelphia
Braden Fiske, DE, Los Angeles
Jared Verse, LB, Los Angeles
Chop Robinson, DE, Miami
And the winner is.
Braden Fiske, Los Angeles
In a really close decision over his teammate and Mitchell.
Offensive Rookie of the Year
And the nominees are.
Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas
Jayden Daniels. QB, Washington
Malik Nabers, WR, New York
Bo Nix, QB, Denver
Brian Thomas, WR, Jacksonville
And the winner is.
Jayden Daniels, Washington
If you need an explanation, you shouldn’t be reading this story.
